“No need. I will not go to Capital with you. As for these two children, if they are willing to follow you, I won’t stop them. But if they don’t want to go with you, then you won’t be able to take them. They are now registered under my name, which means they are my children,” Shen Qingwan stated firmly.

Hearing this, Lu Wenzhao sneered, “Shen, do you really think that just because they call you ‘mother,’ they are truly yours? If you are not my wife, then these two children have nothing to do with you. I won’t stop you from staying in the village, but I will definitely take my parents and children with me.”

“Lu Wenzhao, I don’t care who you take with you, but first, give me the divorce letter,” Shen Qingwan said, tired of arguing with him.

Right now, she only wanted to get the divorce document.

If Lu Wenzhao dared to forcibly take the children away, she wouldn’t mind dealing with him.

In her opinion, there were too many ways to make someone disappear without a trace, so he had better not court death.

The reason she insisted on getting the divorce letter rather than simply eliminating him was that she wanted to sever all ties with him.

In the past, she respected him as a fallen hero who sacrificed for the country, so she didn’t mind staying in the Lu family as a widow.

But now, after seeing his true nature, Shen Qingwan had no intention of having anything to do with him.

“You want a divorce? Dream on! If anything, I should be the one giving you a repudiation letter! Now that I have returned home in glory, I originally planned to bring you all to live comfortably with me. But I never expected you to treat me with such an attitude. Shen, I must cast you away!” Lu Wenzhao raged, pointing at Shen Qingwan and berating her.

At this, Old Madam Lu furiously shielded her daughter-in-law behind her and shouted, “How dare you, you unfilial son! You left for so many years, and if it weren’t for Qingwan taking care of your children and respecting us, we would have starved to death while fleeing from disaster! If you dare to divorce her, you might as well wait until I’m dead!”

Old Master Lu, who had initially been immersed in the joy of his eldest son’s miraculous return, also darkened his expression upon hearing about the divorce. “Your mother is right. Your wife has done nothing wrong. If not for her, do you think we could be living in this sturdy brick house and enjoying a good life? Look around the village—who else has it as good as we do? And look at the children! Other kids in the village wear patched-up clothes, but ours wear new ones, all because of your wife! If you dare to divorce her, then don’t blame me for disowning you as my son.”

Everything Shen Qingwan had done was deeply appreciated by them, and they would never allow anyone to bully her—even if that person was their own son.

Lu Jiaojiao, who had been holding back, finally lost control.

She rushed forward and shoved Lu Wenzhao, yelling, “Get out! I won’t let you bully my sister-in-law! I don’t have a brother like you!”

The young girl’s eyes were red as she pushed him, unwilling to accept that her brother had returned only to drive away her beloved sister-in-law.

If that was the case, she would rather he had never come back at all.

At the entrance, the village chief and other villagers had been reluctant to interfere in family matters, but since the Lu family’s door was left open, they overheard everything.

When they saw the children crying, they decided to stay and listen.

However, the more they listened, the angrier they became.

At first, the villagers had felt happy for Shen Qingwan, thinking that with Lu Wenzhao’s return, she would finally have a husband to rely on.

But they hadn’t expected him to come back only to berate her and demand a divorce.

Even the village chief couldn’t hold back anymore.

“Wenzhao, your wife has endured so many hardships raising your children and taking care of your family. How can you return and immediately divorce her?” Aunt Zhang was the first to speak out.

The village chief, his face dark, stepped into the courtyard. “If you want to take your parents and children to live a good life, I won’t stop you. But if you insist on divorcing your wife, not only will your parents oppose it—so will the entire village. We don’t know what you’ve been through all these years, but returning as a successful man only to cast your wife aside is too heartless.”

“That’s right! How are you any different from a heartless scoundrel?”

“Shen Qingwan is such a good wife, and you still want to divorce her? You must be out of your mind!”

“He probably has a new woman outside and no longer values his wife at home. But honestly, Qingwan is beautiful—he should be grateful to have such a wife!”

Everyone chimed in, making Lu Wenzhao’s face turn ugly.

After all, it was Shen Qingwan who had brought up the idea of divorce, so why was everyone blaming him?

Lu Wenzhao was fuming, but these villagers were all elders and neighbors who had watched him grow up.

He couldn’t argue back, so in the end, he could only grumble, “We’ll talk about this another day,” before leaving in disgrace.

Shen Qingwan originally wanted to make him sign the divorce paper today, but seeing how many people were present, she figured it wasn’t the right time.

So, she let him leave without stopping him.

After Lu Wenzhao left, the village chief and the others offered a few words of comfort before departing as well. Old Master Lu remained silent, his face grim, while Old Madam Lu reassured Shen Qingwan.

“Don’t worry, my dear. As long as you don’t agree, neither your father-in-law nor I, nor the children, will go with him. If that scoundrel dares to divorce you, then we won’t acknowledge him as our son! We will continue living together as before.”

“Your mother is right. As long as I’m alive, I won’t let him divorce you. Don’t worry. Even if we have to leave, we will leave together as a family.”

When Lu Wenzhao first returned, they had been overjoyed.

Old Master Lu had teared up, and Old Madam Lu had hugged her son and wept.

They had thought that with their eldest son back, the family would finally be whole again and that Shen Qingwan would have someone to rely on.

But they never expected him to treat her like this.

To them, their son was family, but so was their daughter-in-law.

They would never allow him to discard her.

However, while everyone was focused on preventing the divorce, they forgot to ask Shen Qingwan what she wanted.

She was never someone’s accessory—she didn’t need to rely on anyone, especially not a man who couldn’t tell right from wrong.

Shen Qingwan didn’t say much to her in-laws about the divorce. She simply decided to settle things the next time Lu Wenzhao came back.

That night, the two children were still shaken.

Shen Qingwan took them to bed early. Little Chen had no memory of Lu Wenzhao and was terrified when he tried to take him away.

Even in his sleep, he sobbed and clung tightly to Shen Qingwan’s clothes, unwilling to let go. The little one seemed to love her scent, burrowing into her embrace even as he slept.